Hiking boot



J. A. cRo'i'TY HIKING BOOT I Filed Jan. 26, 1943 INVENTOR.

JAMES A. CROTTY ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 22, 1944 UNITED STATES HIKINGBOOT James A. Crotty, New York, N. Y., assignor to William Sherman,SouthNorwalk, Conn.

Application January 26, 1943, Serial No. 473,589

3 Claims.

This invention relates, in general, to a foot covering and, moreparticularly, to an improved hiking boot. While boots constructed inaccordance with the invention have a very wide utility, they areparticularly well suited for wear in jungle country, deserts, andsimilar places where boots of ordinary design quickly deteriorate.

Hiking boots of conventional design comprise an upper and a sole member.The upper is generally formed so as to partly enclose the lower leg andcalf of the wearer. A large bellows tongue along with the uppercompletely enclose the lower leg and calf of the wearer. While this sortof construction has the advantage of making the upper self-adjusting tothe leg of the wearer, it has several very decided disadvantages.

In the first place, boo-ts worn in hot, damp country invariably becomewet on the inside through seepage and other ways. Unless the boot isthoroughly cleaned and aired thereafter, it becomes mildewed rapidly andthus deteriorates in such a short time that it is of little value. Withthe construction described above, which has been conventional, the bootcan only be cleaned and aired through the opening formed at the top ofthe .upper. Obviously, this is limited so that it is almost impossibleto give the boot a thorough cleaning.

,Another disadvantage in the conventional hiking boot is introduced bythe lacings provided to hold the boot in place. These lacings threadthrough eyelets or hooks spaced along the sides of the upper. Intracking through heavy underbrush or similar places, twigs, briars, andthe like catch on the lacings, eyelets, or hooks and are a great sourceof annoyance.

A further disadvantage of the boots under consideration is that theymust always be worn with the upper at full height. In hot desert countrya high top boot is necessary for some purposes but for consant use, itis too hot and uncomfortable.

Finally, boots made as described above have substantially no provisionfor ventilation since the tongue is sewed to both sides of the upper.

With this construction the boot holds both heat and moisture whichcauses great discomfort to the wearer in a relatively short time.

An object of this invention is to provide a hiking boot which is notsubject to the aforementioned disadvantages.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved hiking bootwhich may be readily cleaned and throughly aired.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a hiking bootof improved construction having means for ventilating the upper.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved hiking bootwhich may be worn "with the upper at full height or less than fullheight above the sole.

A hiking boot in accordance with this invention comprises an upper whichis self-adjusting to the leg of the wearer and a sole member securedthereto. The upper is so constructed that it may be rolled back :uponitself to any selected height above the sole member and means areprovided for fastening the upper at the selected height. Ventilatinginserts are included in the upper.

A complete understanding of the invention may be had from the followingdescription which is to be read in the light of the appended drawing. Inthe drawing Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hiking boot built inaccordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is another view of the boot ofFig. 1 showing the upper rolled to half-size; and Fig. 3 is a view of aninsole which may be employed with the boot.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, there is disclosed a hikingboot embodyinglthe concept of this invention. The boot comprises anupper which is self-adjusting to the leg of the wearer and a sole membersecured thereto. The upper is made of a plurality of parts. Intheembodiment under consideration two principal parts are used, a frontpart I and a rear part 2. The front part, which forms the vamp and frontof the boot, consists of two pieces of semi-porous fabric joinedtogether by means of a, ypsy seam. The rear part, which serves as theback quarter of the boot, likewise consists of two pieces of semi-porousfabric sewed orassembled together. and protected by a binding 3 offabric tape; A counter, not shown in the drawing, is provided in therear quarter as is conventional in boot construction.

The sole member 4 is, preferably, a composite one, consisting of a wearresistant outer portion and an inner portion of sponge-rubbercomposition adapted to expand during a vulcanizing process. The solemember also includes a heel of wear resistant material.

In fabricating the boot just described, the front part I and the rearpart 2 are cut from suitable fabric. These parts are then sewed togetherat the bottom, just in front of the counter. In assembling the parts inthis step, the front is placed over the rear part and then they are Thisrear seam is covered stitched. The upper is now ready for the lastingoperation, in which a suitable insole is applied, in well known manner.

Having thus completed the upper, the sole 4 is applied through avulcanizing process during which the sponge rubber material is forcedinto the interstices of the upper thereby to effect a strong bondbetween the sole and upper. Following this operation, a pair of straps 5is sewed to the upper, one on each side of the front part I. Thesestraps are to be provided with a suitable fastening device 6, such as atie or buckle.

Obviously, the front and rear parts are shaped and are of such height asto enclose the lower leg and calf of the wearer. In putting the boot on,the front part of the upper is folded back as illustrated in Fig. 1 topermit inserting the foot. The rear part now partially encloses the legof the wearer. The front part is then straightened up and placed againstthe leg of the wearer and the straps tied. In this way the boot adjustsitself to the leg size of the wearer.

It will be clear that a boot of this construction lends itself to readyand thorough cleaning when that is required. To accomplish this, it isonly necessary to fold the front and rear parts back on themselves.Since these parts aresewed together only near the bottom of the boot,the upper may be folded down substantially to the sole member,permitting the foot portion to be cleaned readily.

It will also be clear that the construction of the upper is such thatthe boot may be worn with the upper at full height above the sole memberor at a lesser height. With the upper as shown in Fig. 1, when thestraps 5 are fastened, the upper is at full height and the boot is saidto be full-size. If, now, the front and rear parts are rolled back uponthemselves half way to the sole, the boot is converted into halfsize.The straps, which preferably completely encircle the upper, may befastened to hold the upper in this condition, as shown in Fig. 2. Thispermits the boot to be worn at half size which is a great convenience inhot places, such as deserts. While the roll-back feature of the upperhas been stressed for converting the boot to half size,'it is obviousthat intermediate sizes may be had quite readily by merely rolling theupper back, to the desired height. For greatest flex- .ibility in thisrespect, the straps 5 should be secured to the very top of the frontpart I. This has a tendency, however, to cause buckling of parts i and 2of the upper, which is undesirable. It has been found that the bestlocation for the straps is about half way up part i. Thispermits quitesome freedom in adjusting the height of the upper and yet preventsbuckling. Further,

it makes the boot feel most comfortable to the wearer. I

In order to provide ventilation above that which is inherent in theconstruction, ventilating inserts i may be included in the upper. (Onlyone appears in the drawing. The other is located on the opposite side ofthe upper.) inserts comp ise pieces of mesh material, preferably aplastic mesh. While ventilating the boot properly and permitting waterto drain out in These the event that the wearer walks through wet ordamp places, these inserts prevent stones or rubble from entering theboot and at the same time provide ventilation to the foot of the wearer.

A mesh insole of the type illustrated in Fig. 3 may be worn inside theboot. This insole is of a plastic material like the ventilating insertsshown in Figs. 1 and 2. The insole has the advantage that it isremovable and may be taken out to facilitate cleaning out grubs, mildew,or any other foreign substance which might enter the boot.

While the upper in the described embodiment of this invention comprisesa semi-porous fabric, it is clear that many different materials areequally suitable. For example, the upper may be cut from leather of alltypes as well as various types of fabric. The best material to beemployed in any given case is dictated by the service for which the bootis to be used.

Likewise, the sole member may be made out of any wear-resistingmaterial, and it may be applied to the upper by cementing or stitching,instead of through a vulcanizing process. The limitations are that amaterial must be selected which will provide a firm bond with the upperand which will give the sole high resistance to wear.

The described boot is subject to many modifications by' those skilled inthe art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. For thisreason the scope of the invention is to be determined from the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. A hiking boot comprising a flexible upper which covers the lower legand the calf of the wearer and a sole member secured thereto, said uppercomprising two parts, a front and a rear part, said parts being securedtogether only substantially at the junction of said upper with said solemember whereby said upper may be folded back upon itself substantiallyto said sole member, and means for fastening said parts about the calfof the wearer.

2. A hiking boot comprising a flexible upper which is self adjusting tothe leg of the wearer and sole member secured thereto. said uppercomprising two parts, a front part and a rear part, said parts beingsecured together substantially at the junction of said upperwith saidsole member whereby said upper may be'rolled back upon itselfsubstantially to said sole member, and means for holding said upper atany selected height with reference to said'sole member. 5

3. A hiking boot comprising a flexible upper which is self adjusting tothe leg of the wearer and a sole member secured thereto, said uppercomprising two parts, a front part and a rear part, said parts beingsecured together substantially at the junction of saidupper with saidsole member whereby saidupper may be rolled back upon itselfsubstantially to said sole member, and apair of straps secured to eitherside of said front part for holding said upper at-any selected heightwith reference to said sole member.

, JAMES A. CRO-TTY.

